Published: Mar 24, 2015, 08:44 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 24, 2015, 08:49 PM (IST)
On a night of numerous firsts, New Zealand beat South Africa in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 semi-final by a whisker — a wafer thin margin of four wickets and a solitary delivery to spare. The elusive semi-final win was the highest run-chase by New Zealand in a World Cup and also the highest run-chase in a World Cup knockout match. Ankur Dhawan believes New Zealand ought to be applauded for staying true to their gung-ho style of play under immense pressure and wonders if this was the greatest run-chase in One Day International (ODI) history.
Folklore has it that on the eve of the first-ever tied Test match between Australia and West Indies at Brisbane, the then chairman of selectors for Australia, Sir Donald Bradman, had a word with the Australian captain Richie Benaud, imploring the Aussies to play to the crowd. At the conclusion of the game, Sir Bradman rated it the greatest in the history of Test cricket. READ: New Zealand vs South Africa ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Semi-Final: South African innings highlights
New Zealand created a buzz during the current World Cup that is usually associated with the All Blacks. The energy was vaguely reminiscent of 2011, when they beat France by the skin of their teeth. That was rugby, New Zealand’s number one sport; this time it was cricket, with New Zealand entering a World Cup final for the very first time. The Black Caps were the form team at the outset, and their semi-final qualification was on expected lines. Yet, it wasn’t necessarily the results but the seductive means by which those results were wrought that has been the most eye-catching aspect about their game. Read: New Zealand vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Semi-Final 1: New Zealand innings Highlights
Pundits attribute success in the global arena to playing fearlessly: the lexicon could not have defined fearless better than New Zealand. The Kiwis put on an exhibition for capacity crowds at home from the word ‘go’, and for them to continue playing in the same vein in a high pressure World Cup semi-final was not for the squeamish and deserves special mention. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
It is true that batsmen have ruled the roost for most part of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, but the Black Caps should be complimented for making both bowling and fielding a treat to watch. Their gung-ho approach in the field has seldom been witnessed in ODI cricket. New Zealand, under Brendon McCullum, epitomises the maxim “The best form of defence is attack”. McCullum has truly revolutionised ODI captaincy, with outrageous fields that should put most modern-day Test captains to shame. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
There hasn’t been room for a period of lull, McCullum wants to win but he also wants to entertain, the results truly being secondary. The public is the biggest stakeholder in the game and New Zealand are playing for the fans. At no point during South Africa’s charge with the bat, did McCullum take a step back. Wickets were paramount, and he went for them with gay abandon till it was impossible to do so anymore. For the first 25 overs the South Africans were put through an intense examination and were lucky to get away without collateral damage, before the class and dynamism of AB de Villiers not only rescued the Proteas but almost put the game beyond the reach of the Kiwis. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Nothing changed when it was their turn to bat. The fact that the Kiwis were chasing 298 in 43 overs dictated their approach only to a minimal extent. New Zealand would have played no differently had they been chasing 150 or 125 as they had against Australia and England.
McCullum has been incinerating bowling attacks around the world for the last one year, the fact that it was a semi-final only made him come harder. Reputations were dented yet again. Eden Park had witnessed McCullum’s onslaught on Mitchell Johnson, little did they know that they were in for an encore, only this time it was Dale Steyn, who was shredded to pieces in his first three overs. McCullum led what was arguably the greatest run-chase in ODI history with a 26-ball 59 that included eight hits to the fence along the ground and four over it. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Sanity was restored after McCullum’s dismissal as South Africa began to claw back, first with the wicket of Kane Williamson, who dragged a half-tracker from Morne Morkel back on to his stumps. After a brief rear-guard action by Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor, both the set batsmen were lost in quick succession. South Africa had their sights on a World Cup final at the time. The pressure of the semi-final was finally beginning to tell on New Zealand. Or was it? There has been a method to New Zealand’s madness throughout. The astute captaincy of McCullum can be credited for the same. McCullum has displayed an uncanny knack to identify pivotal moments in the game that require attack or a slightly measured approach, the rest of the team have fed off it. Of course, the sails of the windmill generally tilted in favour of offense.
Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson set about stitching together the most defining partnership of the match, perhaps even their lives. They were quick to recognise that Imran Tahir posed the greatest threat and the fact that Tahir went wicket-less despite causing problems proved decisive in the end. Yet, there were twists and turns and lessons learned as the match swung like a crazy pendulum. Eventually South Africa broke, while Elliott held his nerve, to hit a length ball from Steyn into orbit to seal the deal with a six and a ball to spare. Ian Smith’s cries of joy will echo for days to come. The sense of occasion, the quality of the bowling attack and the artful manner in which the Sisyphean target was overhauled by New Zealand made it a worthy semi-final and them worthy finalists.
(AnkurDhawan is a reporter with CricketCountry. Heavily influenced by dystopian novels, he naturally has about 59 conspiracy theories for every moment in the game of cricket. On finding a direct link between his head and the tip of his fingers, he also writes about it)
